This Week At Angama #116

The rain has been the dominant factor when it comes to planning my week, often dictating when and if we go on drives. One particular morning shower caught us off guard and left us properly soaked. [f 6.3, 1/800, ISO 320, -0.67]

While the flooded roads may have meant ‘no throughway’ for us, for the hippo, it meant a shortcut to the river. [f 5.0, 1/1250, ISO 400, -0.67]

With the grass lush and green, we’ve been seeing loads of elephant. I have grown accustomed to driving by several herds of varying sizes, but this past week I saw the largest herd of elephants to date – at least 70 strong. [f 5.0, 1/1250, ISO 1000, -0.67]

[f 8.0, 1/320, ISO 100, -0.67]

Though I’ve been told that hyenas are more closely related to cats than dogs, we have bumped into a few that certainly didn’t share cats dislike of water. They seemed delighted to enjoy their ‘hyena spa day’, soaking away their troubles in little pools of muddy water. [f 8.0, 1/250, ISO 100, -0.33]

[f 8.0, 1/500, ISO 400, -0.67]

As lions are not particularly fond of getting wet, they will often opt to avoid the tall grass and stick to the usually (but not always) drier roadside. [f 8.0, 1/640, ISO 400, -0.67]

Because of this, we were able to find the Owino Pride again, giving me the chance to see Prince Mkia and his mostly missing tail up close. He sadly seems to have had a rough time recently and walked with a pronounced limp.  [f 6.3, 1/640, ISO 320, -0.67]

Perhaps this is why he chose to simply walk through the flood waters rather than exert himself by jumping up onto the raised roadside. [f 6.3, 1/1250, ISO 320, -0.67]

It may have looked as though his brother was laughing at him, but he was actually exhibiting the flehmen response – breathing in pheromones to see if one of the females in the pride was ready to mate. [f 7.1, 1/2500, ISO 640, -0.67]

The pride lost one of its cubs a few weeks ago, so currently only one remains and this little playful one knows it be guarded fiercely. [f 6.3, 1/640, ISO 320, -0.67]

It was very special to get the chance to go out with some of the Angama family on a game drive one morning. This small team has been hard at work readying the lodge to welcome you back.

Photograph by Adam Bannister

Seeing the smaller residents of the Mara remains a highlight of my week. Gorgeous butterflies and moths flit around camp in dazzling fashion like this gorgeous member of the emperor moth family that Adam spotted outside the Photographic Studio. [f 6.3, 1/500, ISO 320, -1]

This cattle egret showed no fear as he navigated deftly between the pounding buffalo hooves. [f 6.3, 1/400, ISO 1000, -0.67]

My birding knowledge continues to grow as I see regulars like the white-browed coucal and the Egyptian goose.
[f 6.3, 1/800, ISO 160, -0.33]

[f 6.3, 1/640, ISO 320, -1]

[f 6.3 1/125 ISO 100, -0.33]

[f 6.3, 1/800, ISO 250, -0.33]

Along with some I don’t spot as often as I would like, such as the secretary bird. [f 6.3, 1/400, ISO 100, -0.67]

This Week Two Years Ago

Photograph by Tyler Davis, iPhone SE

Two years ago, Tyler photographed an amazing little spider using just a camera phone – proving that you don’t always need a fancy DSLR to capture an unusual moment in the Mara.